Eagles QB Wentz cleared for 7-on-7 drills

Carson Wentz was cleared for controlled 7-on-7 drills during organized team activities and participated with the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday, less than six months removed from reconstructive knee surgery.

Wentz, injured in December against the Los Angeles Rams, tore his anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments and required surgery shortly thereafter.

He participated in individual drills in minicamp and head coach Doug Pederson said Tuesday the Eagles are thrilled with the progress Wentz has made to date.

“Part of the rehab process with him is giving him a little more — I don’t want to say freedom — but a little more practice time,” Pederson said. “And one of the controlled environments that we can, obviously, put him in is a 7-on-7 situation. So being able to sprinkle him in and just watch him more in an up-tempo type of practice, in those situations, has been good. We’ll continue to do that these next two days and next week and just keep building as we go.”

Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles had taken all of the first-team reps in practice until Tuesday.

Wentz is wearing a brace on his left knee but otherwise there are no signs of a major injury in his agile movements in and outside of the pocket.

The 25-year-old said he plans to participate in training camp and be ready for Week 1 of the regular season, but Pederson and the Eagles have been more cautious with timelines.

Pederson said he is happy with “all those guys, where they are right now,” when discussing fellow veterans returning from injury, including left tackle Jason Peters, running back Darren Sproles and linebacker Jordan Hicks.

“Listen, we’re going slow,” Pederson said. “We’re not pushing any one of these players to get back. We’re taking it slow, and we’re going to make sure they’re 100 percent.”